Tennis racket



A. RYDER TENNIS RAC'KET Oct. 27 1925.

2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

Filed May .26, 1921' INVENTUR fi/riimse f yaer , Oct. 27 1925- A. RYDER TENNIS RACKET Filed May 26, l2 1 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Oct. 27, 1925.

AMBROSE nynna, orinriw 1031;, .N. Y.

' swee ie e se 4??? as eaaea a easecation.

inyention relates to tennis rackets and e res 9 .e in se lee 13 i P is a racket having "a web or mesh Wltlim ns steamin at 61 anew tree of in the frame. A further obj ect is to prod tis l lie thes new j eea y is ewe are made of Wood.

A urther object is to provide a webthat will resist the injurious effects due to" ture in a greater degree than the cat gut W b n ne s ees a fused Further ,objects and the advantages of the improved construction will'be described and pointed out in the claims.

Referring to the drawings which form a part of this specification,

Figure 1 is a plan view ofa racket embodying my invention.

Figure 2 is a longitudinal sectional view thereof taken on line 22 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is aplan View showing a portion of a racket, and illustrating a modified construction.

Figure 4 is a crosssectional View through the frame or the construction shown in Figure 3 taken on line 4-4 thereof.

Figure 5 is a plan View of a portion of a racket illustrating another modified form.

Figure 6 is a longitudinal sectional view taken on line 66 of Figure 5.

Figure 7 is a cross sectional view on an enlarged scale of the frame illustrated in Figure 6.

One of the fundamental features of my invention is that of elastic means for tensioning the web and this means may consist of metal springs formed of steel or other suitable metal or may be provided by the employment of a pneumatic tube. Referring to Figures 1 and 2, A, indicates the and e 9f e eket to which i at a h d. a new which sup ers an elliptical name been 3] mania t b e men, t -e4 bly of an alloy'o f aluminum in order to prode a r m li t n w t @1316 rav cross seetion erthe for'iii illustrated at B hen n els s aai ee d aii inwar ly sneaduigtd e oherei' aa'er refe fed-teas a flange and which serves to hold lower-hook ends of the'bands D 1) 1 at. e of with'a hook at each ,end, one held the'fiang e C and the other attached to the wire "frame E which in turnsupports the web F. Theform of this frame provides an annular groove G in which restsfa pneumatic tube 'H'havi n'g a valve through whicli it may be inflated. The Web may be permanently connected to the wire frame if'desired *but-I prefer to provide smal lxhook's J"'J etc. the shanks of *which are "connected to the web and the hooks detachably connected to the wire frame E as illustrated. Aband-K of metal or other suitable material" is formed to conform to the shape of the tube H and is held thereto by the bands Del) located at this end of the racket, and serves td'pr'otect the tubefro-m injury in case the 'racketzstrikes the ground'in the act of playing. The Web F may be made'o'f braided strands orwove'n of metal, preferably 'of'an aluminum alloy that is light in weight and will not'rust or be easily affected by water or bad weather conditions. .The frame and yoke are riveted together as illustrated at L and the yoke is provided with a'r'ecess M to permit the tube H to fit into the frame as shown. Inflating the tube by air pressurecauses an outward movement of its outer periphery which in turn carries thebands outward relative to the frame B and wire frame E, causing a tension in the wire frame and web as will be readily understood.

Referring to Figure 3, it will be seen that the yoke A is connected toa tubular metal frame B and a pneumatic tube is connected thereto by bands NN etc. and held on the inner side of the frame instead of on the outer side thereof as illustrated in Figure 1. A set of bands D-D etc. extend from the wire frame E around the tube H and when this tube is expanded the web F is drawn taut thereby. A further feature is that two Webs indicated by F and F respectively may be used so that either side of the racket may be used and will present the same effective working area, the plane extend- I ing practically unbroken up to the frame B Referring to the construction illustrated in Figures 5, 6 and 7, the handle A is connected to a yoke secured to a semicircular metal frame B having inwardly turned edges forming flanges O-U respectively which extend entirely around the frame and are bent to form annular grooves PP respectively in which the ends of metal springs Q-Q etc. rest. To each spring Q is con nected a turnbuckle R by means of which the web F is drawn taut.

By making the racket of metal I eliminate the wood which warps and the web which breaks. A game of tennis may be played on a rainy day without injury to the racket or impairment of its efliciency while playing and also the racket is more durable than when constructed of wood and gut.

Having thus described my invention 1 claim as new;

' 1. A tennis racket comprising a f time and a web formed independent thereof and pneumatic means supported by the frame and a plurality of independent bands holding said web to said frame under tension.

2. A tennis racket comprising a frame and a metal web formed independent thereof and pneumatic means supported by the frame and adapted to be connected with and hold said web to said frame under tension.

3. A tennis racket comprising a metal frame, a handle and a yoke connected at one side only to said frame to provide recess, and a pneumatic tube located in said recess.

4. A tennis racket comprising a frame, a Web formed independent of the frame and pneumatic means carried by the frame and supporting the web and embodying elements by means of which the tension of the web may be controlled.

5. A tennis racket comprising a metal. frame, a handle and a bifurcated yoke attached to said handleand connected with said frame at one side only.

6. A tennis racket comprising a frame and a web formed independent of the frame and pneumatic means encircling the web and adapted to hold it under tension in said frame.

A tennis racket comprising a frame and a web and pneumatic means for holding said Web under tension in said frame said means and web being bodily detach able from said frame.

8. A tennis racket comprising a frame and a web and a pneumatic tube carried by the frame and encircling the web and bands extending from the web to the tube to support the web under tension in'the'frame.

9. A tennis racket comprising a frame and an independent web and pneumatic means for holding said web under tension in said frame.

10. A tennis racket comprising a metal frame, a web formed independent thereof supported therein, pneumatic means carried by said frame and independent bands connecting said pneumatic means to said web.

11. A racket comprising a metal frame and a handle therefor, and a web located at one side of the frame and in a plane with the face surface thereo and pneumatic means carried by the frame which act to hold said webs under tension.

12. A racket comprising a frame and a handle therefor, a web having a wire frame and a number of detachable bands which extend over the frame and engage the wire frame of the web.

13. A racket comprising a frame and a handle therefor, a web having a wire frame, a pneumatic means carried by the frame and a number of independent detachable bands which extend over said pneumatic means and the frame and engaging the wire of the web.

14. A racket comprising a frame and a handle therefor, a web having a wire frame and a number of detachable bands having hooks which engage the wire frame of the web.

Signed at New York in the county of New York and State of New York this 24th day of May A. D. 1921.

AMBROSE RYDER. 

